ADEOS (Advanced Earth Observing Satellite)

ADEOS 2.

ADEOS (Advanced Earth Obsreving Satellite) was a series of two Japanese Earth resources satellites. ADEOS 1, also known
by its national name Midori meaning "green," was the first resources satellite
to observe our planet from space in an integrated way. Developed and managed
by Japan's NASDA (National Space Development
Agency), it carried eight instruments supplied by NASDA, NASA, and CNES
(the French space agency) to monitor worldwide environmental changes, including
global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, and shrinking of tropical
rainforests. Due to structural damage, the satellite went off-line after
only nine months in orbit.

ADEOS 2 continued where its predecessor left off, but also studied the global
circulation of energy and water. It contributed to NASA's EOS (Earth Observing System) by carrying NASA's Seawinds scatterometer, a microwave radar to measure near-surface wind velocity and
oceanic cloud conditions, which scientists hoped would improve their ability
to forecast and model global weather. However, all communication with ADEOS
2 was lost in October 2003, probably as a result of heightened solar flare
activity at the time. Its active lifetime had been roughly the same as that
of its predecessor. See also Japan in
space.